METROPOLITAN DENVER HOMELESS INITIATIVE
METROPOLITAN DENVER HOMELESS INITIATIVE VOL. 2, ISSUE A quarterly newsletter brought to you by MDHI 1 FIRST QUARTER 2015 The mission of Metropolitan Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) is to implement a comprehensive homeless housing and service continuum of care (CoC) system in the seven county metropolitan region . Highlights at MDHI Welcomed new board members: Bob Froug, Lu Horner, John Kelly, Melanie Lewis-Dickerson, Bob Munroe, and Wendy Schwartz Brothers Redevelopment awarded 2015 CO DOLA grant to coordinate landlord recruitment campaign for seven county area OMNI Institute hired to assist with the 2015 Point-in-Time data collection and analysis Harm Reduction and Housing First trainings scheduled for March and April 2015 Volunteer for the 2015 Point-in-Time Count The 2015 Point-in-Time (PIT) count is scheduled for Monday, January 26, 2015. Based on past results the PIT committee is recommending a different approach for the 2015 count Past PIT counts: Census counts of sheltered/unsheltered population (surveying everyone) Included at-risk populations in the count and separated into its own dataset in 2014 report Not all counties consistent in where/who they surveyed Outcomes show that the CoC did not capture our target population (HUD defined homeless) on a consistent basis Committee Recommendations for 2015: Survey only HUD defined sheltered/unsheltered homeless using mixed methodology (census and sampling/extrapolation) Transitional housing PIT data from Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Identify common touch points across the continuum of care (CoC) Participation of AmeriCorps VISTA members to coordinate volunteers, donated incentives, and touch points Sign-up to volunteer at: www.mdhi.org Hiring for a New Beginning—MDHI Employer Community Forum In December, the MDHI Employment Subcommittee convened more than 80 people to: Discuss how to break down barriers to hiring homeless individuals with an offender history Connect with new employers who are willing to hire people with offender backgrounds Hear from guest speakers about successes and how they overcame barriers to employment The forum stimulated dialogue on the following topics: Work opportunities for hiring homeless individuals with offender backgrounds Challenges and opposition public agencies face when promoting such opportunities Key skills and activities needed to prepare offender workers for jobs AmeriCorps VISTA Project MDHI welcomed our new VISTA members: MDHI VISTA Leader, Hana Lewis; Adams County, Jackie Gutierrez; Arapahoe/Douglas Counties, Brian Martin; Boulder/Broomfield Counties, Sharyl Carter; Denver County, Josh Garland; and Jefferson County, Maryjane Carr. The VISTA team is working across the region to build capacity by: Providing coordination for the 2015 Point –in-Time count Assisting in development of the regional landlord campaign Contributing to the Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System (CAHPS) Building local and regional capacity in other areas to address housing instability and homelessness Project Sites: Adams County Housing Authority, City/County of Denver, City of Boulder, and Family Tree Thank you to our project sites and supervisors for making our AmeriCorps VISTA Project a reality! Gary Sanford—Executive Director Rebecca Mayer—Program Coordinator Joe Baker—Data Coordinator Hana Lewis—VISTA Leader Interns: Amanda Trujillo, Emily Samora Volunteers: Brian Garrett, Elizabeth Sterlacci Metropolitan Denver Homeless Initiative 711 Park Avenue West, Suite 320, Denver, CO 80205 www.mdhi.org, 303-295-1772 Twitter: @M_D_H_I Special thanks to our investors and partners: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Butler Family Fund City and County of Denver Mile High United Way The Denver Foundation Enterprise Foundation Housing and Homeless Funders Collaborative US Department of Housing and Urban Development
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